


my darling, my life

by HiddenEye



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, I'm Sorry, M/M, let them be happy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-05
Updated: 2017-07-05
Packaged: 2018-11-28 04:46:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11410509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HiddenEye/pseuds/HiddenEye
Summary: Impatience made Shiro activate his thrusters while he zeroed on the figure that did nothing to indicate he was alive while his mechanical companion circled around him in distress, and Shiro felt his heart lodged in his throat at his teammates’ worried calls while the worst thoughts came to mind.Impatience made Shiro push those nightmares away with a hard shove.





	my darling, my life

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by [this](https://razielim.tumblr.com/post/162486669288/floating-through-space-forehead-touch-for) beautiful fanart of them together by [razielim](https://razielim.tumblr.com/) :')

 

 _But our love it was stronger by far than the love_  
_Of those who were older than we-  
Of many far wiser than we-_

 _And neither the angels in heaven above,_  
_Nor the demons down under the sea,_  
_Can ever dissever my soul from the soul  
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee._

_\- Annabel Lee, Edgar Allan Poe_

* * *

 

 There were certain arts to waiting when one had intentions of applying it in their life, a convenience with its loose ability to make someone perch on their toes despite all the patience they think they have in themselves to withstand its stubborn way of burrowing under one’s skin. It was important to know which segmented problem should be paired with it, and to check on it every other time in order to avoid misunderstanding as well as delayed responses.

Waiting was a dark hovering creature by one's side as its ominous presence would make them twitch from impatience. Waiting was a creature that held time in its palm and slowed the world until it crawled on its knees, and those suffered in its power would be just a norm that would appear in their daily lives.

Shiro, however, thought it was a living embodiment of a cow’s digestive system where he felt he had to repeatedly pat its ass in order to let its bowel movements work normally. It was bypassing the constipation thing altogether, all while assuring the poor thing everything was going to be fine when he just wanted things to get over with.

No offense to Kettlenecker, of course.

The irony was knowing this was a counting debate to his philosophy of not allowing himself to indulge in its presence.

Letting out a huff of silent laughter, Shiro took a careful aim for the last two warships that tried to ambush the red lion from behind, effectively wiping them off course with quick blasts of bright blue beams before those ships swerved away and exploded against each other. The red lion shot him a grateful hum in his mind while maintaining her determination against the old ship that took her paladin, an insistent block of old garbage that refused to bow under her rage.

Shiro was more than happy to assist her in getting Keith back.

“Busting this ship open is taking us longer than usual,” Hunk commented with a grunt, and Shiro was able to see the yellow lion barrelling out of fire range. “I'm guessing they found out a way to find better metal and make it thicker.”

“There’s not even a single scratch!” Lance huffed out a breath, clearly as agitated when Blue yanked away from the ship with the knife still clamped in her mouth. “I'm starting to think they’re using an invisible magic shield to keep us from ripping it to shreds.”

“A possibility,” Pidge said, letting her own pelts of laser beam hit against the shell of the ship. “That or they build a machine to make a force field around it, but they either hid it somewhere we won't be able to see that thing, which would be a generator of sorts, and would be cloaked with invisibility.”

Shiro clicked his tongue. Always so paranoid, these Galra.

“Whatever it is, we'll have to bring it down in order to get Keith and the prisoners back.” Shiro began piloting the black lion to the front of the ship, where he was able to see a Galra commander barking orders to his crew the moment they took sight of Shiro. “We're not leaving until all of them are safe out of there.”

Their first mistake was allowing Keith to get the prisoners out of the ship alone on that planet while the rest of them fought with the rest of the Galra in space. When they first detected the cargo ship, it was huddled in the roots of a large tree despite it being bigger than a standard warship. From looks alone, it seemed the ship was abandoned there long enough, where orange vines and moss alike crawled around it until it was barely visible from the outside; a perfect hideout for Galra to use it as a momentarily port before shipping those prisoners to the arena or the commanding ship to be used as underground slaves.

After taking down the guards stationed in the cargo ship, guiding the prisoners had been the next step in their plan until all doors had been locked down, alerting Shiro and the rest of his teammates with Keith’s indignant shouting before his feed was abruptly cut off. It didn't take long before the ship was rocketed out of the planet's atmosphere, external metal rusted with the planet's molecules but was clearly running smoothly with undoubtful maintenance.

Taking its appearance for granted was another mistake they held above their heads.

The black lion roared under his palms when Shiro urged for it to shoot a blast of laser beams towards the ship, and he tightened his grip onto the levers with a locked jaw when he watched the way it diverted his attacks into random places. Cursing under his breath, the black lion was jerked to the side just as a couple of beams almost hit them back.

“Wait, wait, I see it!” A screen jumped in front of him, and Shiro saw through Hunk’s feed as the Yellow Paladin continued to zoom onto the belly of the ship. Something sparked got Shiro’s attention, and when he tried to take a closer look, Hunk began to explain rapidly, “Pidge was right about the shield generator! Somehow, we were able to hit it even though it was all invisible, and kinda scratched it a bit that let some of the wiring go busted, but not enough to let the shield down altogether. Maybe if we keep hitting it-”

“We'll finally be able to hit the ship itself!” Lance finished, hooting in the comms. “Buddy, that's some eye you got.”

“Great job, Hunk,” Shiro told him with a smile. “How about you do the honours of taking it down while the rest of us distract it?”

Hunk chuckled, and the yellow lion swooped down. “You got it.”

“We can’t let our attacks affect the ship too much, though,” Pidge warned them as the green lion sided beside Shiro. “Keith and the prisoners are still in there, letting the ship explode would kill them all in an instant.”

She was right, of course. And Shiro wasn't going to let Keith or the prisoners die under his watch, he wasn't going to leave them all to fend for themselves.

Not again.Not when he lost Keith the moment Shiro was sold as entertainment in a Galra colosseum, facing innocents for the sake of feeding Galra’s manic hunger for blood and destruction.

The yellow lion open its mouth before letting out a stream of yellow energy towards the already broken device, using every bit of power it had to take it down.

“Come on,” Shiro prayed under his breath, watching how metal was beginning to melt under the consistent hit.

Under an untrained eye, one wouldn't see the way the atmosphere around the ship was beginning to flicker under the strain of Hunk’s attack. Shiro had forced himself to look out for the littlest change of details when he was held as a prisoner himself, and the way the air was blinking around it was making him perch at the edge of the seat as he watched the shield disintegrate in front of his own eyes.

Something purple flashed around the ship, before Shiro caught sight of smoke from the indistinguishable generator just as the shield fell down.

An ice beam was shot towards the ship until it engulfed the whole surface thoroughly and inside the engines, and Lance let out a hum of satisfaction when the ship stayed airborne, sticking to where it was while the lions blocked its way.

“You’re not in any condition to attack,” Shiro spoke evenly through the microphone, making his presence known. “Stand down.”

There was no answer as a beat of silence passed, and Shiro saw a pod making its escape from the other end of the ship. “Leave it,” he said just when Pidge made an attempt to chase after it. “They're not worth the energy. We need to get Keith and-”

He didn't get to finish his sentence before something else was shot into space.

Keith, who was wearing his helmet to withstand the lack of air, made worry and relief clashed inside Shiro’s chest at the sight of him floating seamlessly in dark matter, almost as if he didn't have the energy to make himself move towards where the red lion was already flying towards its paladin.

Impatience made Shiro unbuckle his seat belt before he pushed himself from his place to get through the hatch that opened above his head.

Impatience made him grip onto the edge to hurl himself up and out of the black lion with ease, throwing himself against the dark canvas that stretched wide and open around him while numerous amount of stars and planets speckled against it.

Impatience made Shiro activate his thrusters while he zeroed on the figure that did nothing to indicate he was alive while his mechanical companion circled around him in distress, and Shiro felt his heart lodged in his throat at his teammates’ worried calls while the worst thoughts came to mind.

Impatience made Shiro push those nightmares away with a hard shove.

_Keith._

Shiro slowed down when he got nearer, and the red lion had settle for hovering near its paladin with its tail flicking in aggravation, helpless to do anything else as she merely watch Shiro made his way towards Keith.

“I got him.” He assured her with a quiet breath, no doubt letting the others hear him as well as he began reaching for Keith.

The red lion only loomed near in response.

Curling his fingers around Keith’s wrist, Shiro was able to see how the Red Paladin had his eyes closed from behind his visor, puffs of breaths clouding against the transparent glass as Keith continued to breathe shallowly. When Shiro got nearer, he wasn't able to see any scars or bruises that said Keith was badly hurt, but it was safer to bring him to the Castle of Lions for a better check up.

“Guys,” Shiro began as he pulled Keith towards himself, hands careful in making sure the younger man didn't slip away from his grasp. “I need you to hail the castle, say we managed to stop Keith and the prisoners from being taken. And to get some pods ready for them to use.”

“Alright,” Pidge’s worried voice came through the comms. “I’ll send a signal for Allura.”

“Is he alright?” Hunk asked in concern, and Shiro used his fingers to brush the side of Keith’s helmet.

“He'll be fine.”

Shiro took a deep breath, before leaning forward to rest his helmet against Keith’s, the same hand now cupping the side of his covered face while the other held his hand tightly. “Keith,” he murmured. “Come on, buddy. I need you to open your eyes for me.”

Shiro briefly noticed the way the castle appeared out of a wormhole, and he watched how Keith let out a shudder of breath while his eyelids began to flutter open, allowing Shiro to see a silver of purple eyes looking at him blankly. Recognition started to sharpen through his haze, and Keith slowly blinked once as an attempt at refocusing his eyesight.

 _Drugged_ , was what came to mind as Shiro gave his hand a squeeze, and it laid slack in his hold while Keith was still trying to recover himself when his mouth began to move.

“ _Shiro_ ,” he breathed, lifting his hand to latch onto his shoulder tightly.

“Yeah,” Shiro answered quietly. Keith let out a pained groan as a response while his eyes shut close again; exhausted from the heavy poison flowing in his system, one that was strong enough to make him feel far too weak. “We're taking you back to the castle, where you'll be able to rest for a while.” Then, he paused, squeezing Keith's hand again. “You did good, Keith. I'm telling you this now because you'll probably blame yourself for thinking you failed later.”

Keith didn't open his eyes then, already falling unconscious as Shiro collected him in his arms, pulling Keith to his chest as much as their armour allowed them.

“I'm here,” Shiro repeated his words, a whisper to Keith's temple while he held him close, peering up to where a pod was sent towards their way. “I'm here, and I won’t leave you again.”


End file.
